SE:iN-i)lSEASE OF TÜE INDIANS. 
5T 
any rate, the chief's countenance assumed a vexed character, the conver 
sation became more animated, the reporters were oblij^d to return again 
and again to the article, and re examine it carefully with a view to sup- 
plying a m;ure accurate account: — tinally it appeared that either his 
patience had comie to an end or else his curiosity had been so aroused by 
w hat he had been told that he could no longer keep his seat. He got up 
and subjected everything, particularly the cooking apparatus which we 
had set up fn a special kitchen, to his own personal scrutiny, and when 
Sororeng explained its use to liimi his astonishment reached its limit. 
Our forks also proved a source of great surprise, which was still further 
increased when Sororeng demonstrated their practical use. During the 
course of the day this party of ]>eop]e was followed liy yet others, who 
also reviewed every single article in detail. Amongst the last to come 
our attention was particularly drawn, especially on account of his pecu- 
liar growth of hair, to a half-Indian {(Jupoucre) whose father was Negro, 
and mother Indian. The hair had taken on half the cliaracter of the father 
and half tluit of the mother, and consequently liad reached neither the 
com])lete curled woolly hair of the negro, nor the sm,;ooth one of the 
Indian, but rose stiff in the air, half curled and half straigiit, and gave 
the head in addition to its prodigious size, an extremely striking appear- 
ance. As regards bifild of body, the half-breed had tlie advantage over 
the Indian not only in thickness and size, liut especially in a more com- 
pact, more powerful musculature: his colour wag a mixture of brown 
and black. In British Guiana we only met a few of such individuals : 
they must be all the more numerous in Surinam where tlie runaway 
slaves have repeatedly married with Carib womjen. 
142. We found the lichen-like skin-disease indigenous also among 
the Wapisianas and in those who were i)resent we saw several troubled 
with it to a fairly great extent. In isolated cases not only the breast and 
face, but even the extremities were covered with white scaly lichens, 
which gave them an extremely curious, in a way repulsive appearance : 
if I might use the expression, the disease looked like mould turned upside 
down. According to all the information gleaned, it is the skin of the 
Indians that seems to be the organ most sensitive and liable to catch 
most diseases. My brother also discovered here an old acquaintance from 
Fort Sao Joaquim; whom he had met there as a slave in 1837, but who 
liad subsequently and successfully seized a favourable oppoi'tunity for 
escape, 
143. Late in the evening Stöclvle returned to camp with his party liiit 
noHanilet, without, as we well discovered, haAnng made nuich of a seai i h 
for him. The Indians, who knew Stockle's firmmess of character, after 
fairly quickly convincing him that the negro m(ust have been long ago 
torn to pieces by a jaguar, had then peacefully laid down to sleep aAvay 
the time till evening. 
144. Through this unpardonable neglect our anxiety over the 
poor Avretch naturally continued to increase, aiul every effort was 
now required to save him, if that were still ]>ossi)(le. Accordingly, 
for the night, large heaps of wood were piled up on the hill-top and set 
fire to, so that Hamlet's attention, were he still alive, might be 
